GLOSSARY · NRI: INDIANS IN THE US
Residence under FEMA
The test in the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 that decides whether you are a person resident in India or outside India. It looks at days in India and also at purpose: someone who goes abroad for work or another purpose that shows an intention to stay abroad for an uncertain period is resident outside India. It decides which bank accounts you may hold, such as NRE, NRO and FCNR(B), and the Income-tax Act borrows it for the NRE interest exemption. It is separate from tax residence in India and in the US.
Also called: FEMA residence, resident outside India, person resident outside India, FEMA status
COMPUTE IT WITH YOUR NUMBERS
LEARN IT PROPERLY
CHAPTER · TWO-COUNTRY MONEY · FOUNDATIONSTwo Tax Systems, One HouseholdCHAPTER · TWO-COUNTRY MONEY · FOUNDATIONSNRE, NRO and FCNR AccountsRELATED TERMS
SOURCES
- FAQs: Accounts in India by Non-residents (as on January 16, 2025). Reserve Bank of India.
- FAQs: Remittance of assets, quoting section 2(v) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. Reserve Bank of India.
- Income-tax Act, 2025, Schedule IV, Sl. 1 (income not included in total income of eligible non-residents; read 2 October 2026). Income Tax Department, Government of India.